High potential and gifted education
At Sydney Childrens Hospital School, learning does not begin with content. It begins with curiosity. The moment you awaken a sense of wonder, the mind opens, attention sharpens and the child becomes an active seeker rather than a passive receiver. Our teachers are experts at co-designing with students, opportunities to engage in deep learning that utilises their talents and develops their strengths.
The NSW Department of Education High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) policy draws on Françoys Gagné's definitions of giftedness and talent established in the Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent DMGT 2.0 (2009).
The definition of high potential students across creative, intellectual, physical and social-emotional domains expands the group of targeted students of earlier policies.
Why choose us for your high potential or gifted child?
Recognising potential and developing talent
Our teachers find potential and nurture our students to be the best they can be.
Tailored lessons
Each student has different abilities. Teachers respond to each student’s ability by providing extra challenges and extension activities to keep learning exciting and engaging.
Opportunities and activities
Students can take part in opportunities to develop their talent in the arts, sport, leadership and more.
Opening doors to wider experiences
Our students can participate in a wide range of state-wide opportunities that aim to extend and enrich student potential.
What is high potential and gifted education?
High potential and gifted education (HPGE) is how our school supports students with advanced learning needs.
We do this through:
- effective teaching strategies like enrichment, extension and acceleration
- tailored support during lessons that stretch, challenge and inspire
- access to a wide range of opportunities both within and beyond our school.
Our high potential and gifted education opportunities
Our students engage with HPGE learning in the classroom, in our school, and across NSW. At Sydney Childrens Hospital School, our teachers co-design deep learning opportunities that draw on students’ talents and build their strengths. Using vertical grouping, we meet students where they are and create flexible, skill-building experiences that help them excel.
Within the limits of our environment, we prioritise Creative, Intellectual, and Social-Emotional strengths. We focus on individual aspirations while collaborating through shared experiences, using creative ways to express and understand the human experience.
Guided by our shared Learning Dispositions, high aspirations, and high expectations of each other, our personalised approach offers students and families a hopeful learning pathway during some of their most challenging times.
The definition of high potential students across creative, intellectual, physical and social-emotional domains expands the group of targeted students of earlier policies.
- Differentiated tasks that adjust pace, complexity and higher-order thinking.
- Formative assessment to monitor growth and adapt learning.
- Advanced learning pathways, including accelerated or compacted content.
- Explicit teaching of critical thinking and problem-solving strategies.
- Opportunities for abstraction, inquiry, and curriculum depth.
- Tasks that promote choice, authenticity, and critical and creative thinking including cross-curricular projects.
- Visual arts and drama showcases
- Creative writing groups
- Wellbeing programs
- Participation in whole-school inclusion and wellbeing initiatives.
- Our mentoring programs connect our students with trusted adults including school alumni to build confidence, motivation, and interpersonal skills.
Help for your high potential child
If your child shows signs of high potential, contact us. We can share how our HPGE support can guide their learning journey.
To help families and teachers better understand a child's learning needs, the following forms are available for download:
These tools can assist in identifying strengths, behaviours, and areas where tailored support may be beneficial.
Student opportunities and activities
Discover the opportunities our students have at our school.
Learning
Find out about our approach to learning and supporting students to progress.